Abstract
The Advanced Fuels Campaign performed a series of irradiation tests of minor actinide-bearing mixed oxide fuel (MA-MOX), the so-called AFC-2C&D experiments, to investigate the transmutation of long-lived transuranic actinide isotopes contained in spent nuclear fuel via fast reactor technology at burnups exceeding 10 % fission of initial metallic atoms. This manuscript reports the test results derived from one of the five MA-MOX rodlets taken to higher burnup in the AFC-2D irradiation. This includes both non-destructive investigations, such as gamma and neutron spectrometry, and destructive investigations, such as fission gas release, ceramography, and chemical burnup analysis. In addition, the microstructure of the fuel was investigated using advanced electron microscopy techniques including electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was observed with EBSD that the pellet had subdivision of the grains and the TEM observed migration of cladding material into the 5 metal precipitates in the fuel which could have been from the higher than desired oxygen/metal ratio. The TEM also showed an enrichment of Cr in fuel clad chemical interaction (FCCI) layer.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 153545 |
| Journal | Journal of Nuclear Materials |
| Volume | 562 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 15 2022 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Advanced Fuels Campaign program in the Office of Nuclear Energy under DOE-NE Idaho Operations Office Contract DE-AC07–05ID14517. This manuscript was authored by a contractor for the U.S. Government. The publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Advanced Fuels Campaign program in the Office of Nuclear Energy under DOE-NE Idaho Operations Office Contract DE-AC07?05ID14517. This manuscript was authored by a contractor for the U.S. Government. The publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes. The authors would also like to acknowledge the staff at HFEF especially Paul Lind, Brian Frickey, and Korbin Traughber and the staff at EML, This information was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the U.S. Government. Neither the U.S. Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. References herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the U.S. Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the U.S. Government or any agency thereof.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| DOE-NE | DE-AC07–05ID14517 |
| U.S. Government | |
| U.S. Department of Energy | |
| Office of Nuclear Energy |
Keywords
- Advanced electron microscope characterization
- Minor actinides
- Mixed Oxide fuel
- Post irradiation analysis